So, we'll move to item 10, which is the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children on the armed forces—Carl Sargeant.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. This is a particularly appropriate time to mark the contribution of our armed forces to the defence of our country and way of life. This year is the centenary of two of the most significant battles of the first world war. The battle of Jutland was a turning point in the war at sea and won at a cost of 8,500 lives. In France, the battle of the Somme was crucial to the course of the war and, particularly at Mametz Wood, huge numbers of Welsh soldiers gave their lives. The First Minister will represent the people of Wales at the national remembrance service in Mametz Wood on 7 July to honour those who gave their lives. I am also pleased that the Welsh Government has contributed to the memorial erected to mark the bravery and sacrifice of the 38th (Welsh) Division at Mametz Wood. We will continue to mark significant first world war events through our Cymru’n Cofio Wales Remembers: 1914-1918 programme.

The Welsh Government will continue to support and contribute to the Armed Forces Day events held in both north and south Wales. The events give the people of Wales the opportunity to show their appreciation and gratitude to those currently serving and to our ex-service personnel. They also provide an opportunity for the younger generation to learn and appreciate the sacrifices made by our servicemen and servicewomen in defending our freedom. We remain fully committed to providing ongoing support and services for our present armed forces community, and we have worked with, and listened to, our key partners and are currently refreshing our package of support. It will also now include a separate document for our serving personnel and their families, called ‘Welcome to Wales’. These two key documents will set out the support available across ministerial portfolios, and support organisations such as the Royal British Legion and Army Families Federation. I will launch these documents formally in early autumn.

Members are already aware of the importance of the defence discount service card. To date, membership of the service has increased by 89.14 per cent compared to 38 per cent for the rest of the UK—a significant difference. We will continue to work with the defence discount service to promote the benefits of the defence privilege card and look to incorporate corporate sign-up to the card.

The health and well-being of our serving and ex-service personnel is of paramount importance to us. We will provide, and have provided, £100,000 to jointly develop a free swimming initiative with the Welsh Local Government Association. We will continue to provide £585,000 a year to maintain the unique Veterans NHS Wales service, and we will explore options to improve the experience of veterans suffering from mental health issues by working with Veterans’ NHS Wales, to ensure that the existing care pathway continues to meet the varied needs of those requiring their services.

The former Minister for Health and Social Services previously announced that, from April of this year, a higher disregard of £25 would apply to war disablement pensions, received by veterans when assessing their contribution to any care costs they are required to pay. From 2017, we will totally disregard those payments when assessing care costs.

A tremendous amount of good work is being delivered across Wales. Already, all local authorities, health boards and other public organisations have covenant champions in place, providing services and support for our armed forces community across Wales. A good example of how working together has made a difference to the lives of the most vulnerable in our communities is Tŷ Dewr in Wrexham. Tŷ Dewr is a purpose-built home for veterans in Wrexham who are experiencing difficulties in their lives. Wrexham local authority, working in partnership with First Choice Housing and supported by the Welsh Government, has provided safe and secure accommodation for veterans to help them rebuild their confidence and their lives. Building on initiatives such as these, we are developing a housing referral pathway. This will enable veterans and their families to make an informed choice as to which option is most appropriate for them. I expect that work also to be completed by early autumn.

You have heard how joint working and shared good practice have resulted in initiatives that will make a difference to the lives of our serving and ex-service personnel. We will continue to work with our partner organisations by convening a covenant conference in the autumn. The conference will provide an opportunity for all attendees to build on good practice and share experiences to ensure our armed forces community receives the support it deserves.

Deputy Presiding Officer, these are challenging times and, as budgets are tightening, we need to be smarter in how we deliver services and initiatives to make a difference. Moving forward, with the armed forces expert group working collectively across sectors, we will continue to support Ministers, and this group will continue to support me in determining my priorities and focusing resources where they have to be and will make the most impact. At the next meeting of the expert group during July, we will identify key priorities and the means to deliver these. This will ensure that we can make a difference to the lives and wellbeing of our armed forces communities, providing them with the support and services they deserve.

I’d like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement and I’d like to welcome the comments he made regarding marking the centenary of the battle of Jutland and the battle of the Somme. Many Welshmen lost their lives, and we owe it to them to remember and to honour their sacrifice.

Those who have served in the armed forces face particular challenges as a result of their service, but they also have the potential to make valuable contributions to their communities, to businesses, and to employers. It is the Welsh Government’s responsibility of course to ensure that appropriate support is in place to enable them to do so. Will the Government introduce specific targets for waiting times for access to mental health care for ex-service personnel, and what service is the Welsh Government putting in place to ensure that veteran amputees have access to the best levels of care within the Welsh national health service?

I welcome the development of purpose-built homes for veterans, like Tŷ Dewr in Wrexham, as the Cabinet Secretary mentioned, and I’d like to ask him what plans the Government has to build on this success and open similar schemes in other locations across the country? Also, what support is available for the families of those in the armed forces, and veterans? Particularly, what steps is the Welsh Government considering taking to support the children of those in the armed forces? Finally, this year—and a couple of years now—we’re marking the centenary of the first world war, but what plans does the Welsh Government have to continue with education in terms of keeping up awareness of the events of 100 years ago beyond the official period of centenary, also looking towards education in conflict resolution? Diolch yn fawr.

I thank the Member for his very positive comments in his contribution. Indeed, I share the Member’s comments regarding the marking of the centenary of the battle of Jutland and Mametz Wood. Events such as these not only recognise and mark our debt of gratitude to veterans of conflict in our nation’s history, but also remind us of the importance of supporting and honouring our present servicemen, women and reservists. Indeed, I have a family background of people serving within the military and I understand how important it is for service personnel to be recognised and to be supported.

Some of the initiatives that happen in Wales are very impressive. I recently visited a men’s shed in Saltney in my own constituency, which is a very important principle of supporting in a very novel way, where people can join an association where they can be reintegrated into society and have a bit of a laugh as well, as it was put to me at the event, which is extremely important. The Member mentioned education, and the new curriculum is about a citizen-focused process. I’ll be making sure that people are engaged in this process. It’s very important that we talk to young people about conflict. Part of the reason, and I wouldn’t want to go back to the debate about Europe before—. The fact that we can talk about this collectively as a nation, and as a European nation, I believe has saved conflicts like the world wars over the past 70 years, and I think that’s something that we should be very mindful of.

I’m grateful to the Member for recognising the issues in Wrexham, particularly around the housing association work with partners around housing and housing solutions. There are other examples across Wales, and I’m happy to write to the Member exploring exactly the housing proposals we have in place. I think it was a £2 million investment that’s delivered about 26 homes across Wales, and I can share the details with the Member. It helps provide them, of course, with a safe and secure home when, sometimes, this is a vulnerable position for the members.

I’m very keen to do some more work about family members in the armed forces. Actually, when I held this role previously, one of my most disappointing visits was when I visited an armed forces unit—a live armed forces unit—and the armed forces personnel were very well supported, but their families and children, I felt, were a little bit isolated. I thought that we could do more as a Government to support the armed forces in particular in how they are able to integrate into their local communities, of which they are a strong part.

In terms of veterans NHS services, the Welsh Government is committed to supporting veterans and wider armed forces communities by ensuring that veterans in particular have access to appropriate and timely healthcare—a very challenging process, particularly with sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder. But, we are proud of the work of Veterans’ NHS Wales as a unique service that provides dedicated veterans therapists in each of the health boards to improve the mental health and well-being of veterans in Wales. It is the only national service of its kind for veterans in the UK. I think there’s much more work to be done, but, actually, it’s a good start, and something that Wales should be shining a light on as something that we are doing very positively. But, I’m happy to work with the Member and I recognise his commitment to this particular cause.

One of the reasons that so many of us face the withdrawal from the European Union with such trepidation is that we’ve had so much war in Europe. It is the centenary of the Somme, where a million people died, and nobody can any longer remember what the benefit was. So, obviously, I support our armed forces keeping us safe and defending our freedom, but we have to do all we can to ensure that we avert war, where possible.

As you say in your statement, these are difficult times at the moment and budgets are tight. For many people, the military service becomes like a second family, particularly for people who may not have had the best opportunities in their first family. So, when they are discharged, it can be like a sense of bereavement. I have some concerns for some of the people who get discharged into isolated social housing in my constituency and then, as a result of depression, find it very difficult to go proactively and ask for help. So, I just wondered whether, in your armed forces group, you had discussed the ways in which the different veterans groups co-ordinate and liaise to ensure that nobody falls through the gaps in services, and that all recent veterans are supported and kept in touch with to make sure that they are getting the support that they need on discharge and during the period when they’re adapting to civilian life.

I thank the Member for her thoughtful contribution again. I think it’s a priority of any Government that preventing conflict at all costs is something that we should consider, and I fully support the Member’s views on that. Of course, the armed forces are something that we have and that we should be very proud of, and we should support them through active service and post-service. I’m very keen to see what we can do in Wales to do that.

I haven’t met the armed services group yet since taking the post, but I have an early meeting in July, and I will consider the Member’s points for an agenda item. I think there are options such as support mechanisms like men’s sheds, which is one example, but volunteering, which is about access to social inclusion, is something that’s really critical when people leave the armed forces. It is a family and people are cajoled and supported in that mechanism. When you leave and go into civvy street, it’s a very, very different world, and we’re making sure that we can support them through the Government, but also there are some really good support projects in private sector companies as well, recognising the worth of the armed forces, both when they were working as an active soldier or, now, on exit.

I think the issue of service gaps is something that I’m very keen to understand better, too. I think the Royal British Legion has called for recognition of where armed forces ex-service personnel actually live now. There are some issues still around that programme, which we’re discussing with the Royal British Legion, but I think it’s really important that local authorities and service providers know where there are potentially vulnerable people, where we can add value to where they live and how we can support them better. So, it is something that I’m looking at in particular. The Member is right to say that, sometimes, when people are presented with a very different situation from what they’re used to, they do recoil and they start to look inwards, and they don’t access services externally, and that can lead to a very difficult pathway for them. But, knowing that there is a vulnerable adult or a person who has dealt with extreme circumstances, sometimes, by being in the military services, is something where we should be, as public services, proactive in trying to support members who wish to have that support given to them. But, it’s something the Member raises well today, and I will consider that with the armed forces group.

Of course, both the Minister and I, alongside both the Deputy Presiding Officer and the Member for Clwyd West, attended the north Wales Armed Forces Day a week ago on Saturday, where we heard moving references to the battles of Jutland and the Somme, and it’s particularly pertinent—and I know the Minister will have timed this statement accordingly—that Friday of this week will be the centenary of the start of the battle of Somme, that dreadful day and the beginning of carnage, killing hundreds of thousands.

You referred to funding; I wonder if you could comment on the projects in Wales funded by the LIBOR money, which part-funded or helped to fund the First Choice development in Wrexham that you referred to, and also funds the projects being delivered through CAIS as the lead organisation—Change Step, peer mentoring and advice services to veterans, and the Listen In service, supporting families and friends of veterans, which has developed into an all-Wales project. Thankfully, funding was confirmed in the UK budget earlier this year.

You referred to the £585,000 a year to maintain the unique Veterans’ NHS Wales service. I wonder if you could help the understanding of that, where Welsh Government, after a period of uncertainty, reconfirmed £100,000 recurrent annual funding for that specific service, as opposed to veterans services generally within the NHS, and how that equates to the £585,000 figure you refer to here, particularly in the context of the statement made at a meeting of the cross-party group on armed forces and reserves earlier this year by clinicians that funding for the Veterans’ NHS Wales service specifically remained below equivalent funding in Scotland and England.

In terms of the Homes for Veterans in Wrexham, I hope you’ll acknowledge that this is the third residence in north Wales to be managed by Alabaré Wales Homes for Veterans. I recently visited both Colwyn Bay and Llandudno Junction homes and met privately the residents and listened to what they had to say. I hope you will take note of their concerns at your meeting with the expert group in July, if you’re going to identify key priorities and the means to deliver these. In that context, in a written answer today, the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport told me that Veterans’ NHS Wales provides dedicated therapists in each health board area, providing specialist outpatient care for veterans with mental health problems, such as PTSD. How do you therefore refer to the comments made to me by a veteran, from a wheelchair, two weeks ago after my intervention had finally got him in front of the community mental health team for assessment, when the promised care co-ordinator—promised within four weeks—hadn’t arrived after two months? When they chased that, they were told that the health board had lost six members of staff and were in the process of replacing them, and I was told on the same visit that another person being supported by Homes for Veterans Wales had been waiting four months since being assessed, and that now the Veterans’ NHS Wales psychological therapist was herself away on sick leave.

I was also told during that meeting with veterans themselves that although Veterans’ NHS Wales is providing a good initial response to referrals, it was just a quick assessment meeting and the patient was then back on the waiting list if they actually needed psychological intervention. Of course, these are serious, particularly when they come from the mouths of the service users, and I’d be grateful if you and your colleagues could look at that.

They also told me—. Sorry, the Cabinet Secretary also told me in her written response today that, with regard to priority treatment and healthcare for veterans, she had asked GPs to consider when making referrals whether, in their clinical opinion, priority treatment may be appropriate as the patient’s condition relates to military service. Would you also therefore consider the concern expressed to me by veterans in person two weeks ago? One in particular told me that he can’t access the health service ‘because his mental health condition prevents him from being able to articulate his words to his GP, and his GP needs to read his notes and his long-standing mental and physical health conditions’. Again, a lot more work, I hope you’ll agree, is required in this area.

Last week, I raised with the business Minister the ‘Call to Mind: Wales’ report published earlier this month, showing that much more needs to be done to support the mental health needs of veterans, and the Minister confirmed that a statement would be forthcoming. Can you confirm that this isn’t that statement, and when that is likely to occur?

Just two final points. As you know, the Scottish Government has introduced a commissioner for veterans who has been very effective in identifying and articulating their needs, and there is a growing call in the armed forces community in Wales for a commissioner here who not only does that, but actually reaches the wider armed forces community to improve outcomes and promote the availability of support. What is this new Welsh Government’s current position on that? Will you look further at the experience in Scotland and engage with the senior armed forces representatives in Wales who have expressed support for this?

And finally in terms of everything I’ve said and everything you and everybody else has said, do you or do you not agree that a veterans’ needs assessment across Wales is needed as the basis for service delivery by the Welsh Government, if it’s finally to acknowledge what planning is required to achieve the provision that all these people are telling us they need?

I thank the Member for his comments. I will make some initial comments, if I may. First of all, on CAIS, I’m very familiar with that organisation which I have visited, along with many other Members, in north Wales. They do an excellent job with the limited amount of funds that they have, but they do it well.

In terms of the broader issues the Member raises with Veterans’ NHS Wales, can I say it is the only national service for veterans in the UK? I don’t recognise the discrepancies the Member raises in regards to an England-and-Wales version, particularly around the funding. If the Member wishes to write to me on that particular issue, I will address those points, but it’s not something I would recognise today.

The work with Veterans’ NHS Wales is to ensure that the existing pathway is continuing to meet the needs of those accessing the services. Therefore, for note, the Welsh Government provides annual funding of £585,000 to Veterans’ NHS Wales, and they have received 1,657 referrals since the service was launched in April 2010. I can’t comment on the individual cases that the Member raises in the Chamber today—I’m not familiar with them—but I would be disappointed if we weren’t able to give a consistent service across Wales and across local health boards when we’re dealing with very vulnerable individuals. But again, if the Member would wish to write to my department on that issue, if I’m the appropriate Cabinet Secretary, then I will look at that specifically.

The Member makes reference to Scotland and he references a commissioner in Scotland. I’m very keen to understand from people experiencing this on the ground, so for me the experts are the expert group—the local government champions who are at the front line delivering services. They are really important to how I make my decisions and prioritise my budgeting. Of course, if there are other examples from across the country or beyond our natural boundaries, I’m more than happy to understand how we best serve the people who have served us well. So, I will look at what’s happening in Scotland, but I do rely on the expert group who have many members of armed forces—ex-armed forces—who know how the system works. So, I will take my views from them.

With regard to the needs assessment that the Member raises, finally, I refer him back to my last response. I think what we have to do is listen to people who have experienced these actions and incidents in the armed forces, and I will listen to the advice of the experts as I make policy for this Welsh Government as we move forward.

Thank you, Minister, for your statement. You’ll know of my long-standing interest in the armed forces, and I’ve been very pleased to see the Welsh Government pick up on many of the issues that I’ve raised in the past, and in particular the ongoing support for the Veterans’ NHS Wales service. You will know, though, that there is inconsistency, as has already been alluded to, in terms of waiting times for access to that service and the service itself via the lead clinician, Dr Neil Kitchiner, has suggested that it needs an annual support package of in excess of £700,000. I wonder, Minister, whether you will be able to review, along with your colleague the Cabinet Secretary for health, the investment that’s going into that service and to keep an eye on the capacity of the service to make sure that it works.

Like Mark Isherwood, I want to sing the praises also of the Change Step programme across Wales. It’s something that I think is unique across the United Kingdom. The peer-to-peer support that is provided to veterans and their families through Change Step really has transformed lives, and I’ve met many individuals who have turned their situations around as a result of the support that has been made available. But there is a precarious future for that service beyond the next 12 months. While they’ve secured funding for the current financial year through to March, there is still some uncertainty going forward. I wonder, Minister, whether you can tell us whether you would consider whether funding that service in the future would be something that the Welsh Government can do.

You made reference to the men’s sheds network. There is actually a veterans’ shed, which has been established in my constituency in Llanddulas. Do you see veterans’ sheds as being something that you could support the expansion of in the future? Finally, one thing that you didn’t mention in your statement was the role that the uniformed cadet forces play across Wales in providing youth engagement opportunities and also in supporting many of our schools where young people would otherwise be not in education, employment or training—NEETs, completely outside the education system. You’ll be aware that there’s been a cadet expansion programme, which has been funded by the Ministry of Defence in England. I wonder, Minister, whether you would confirm the Welsh Government’s support for the expansion of the cadet programme in Welsh schools should there be applications from Welsh schools. There are opportunities for people, of course, to obtain qualifications that they wouldn’t have otherwise obtained in public service and through the cadet vocational qualification scheme, should they participate in the cadet forces. I wonder, Minister, whether you’d be able to tell us whether your Government supports that.

I thank the Member for his comments. First of all, on the funding issue, as I indicated earlier, there is £585,000 to the NHS veterans programme. I listened to the Member very carefully about the increase he’s suggesting and that others have suggested. I will look at that with other colleagues across the Cabinet to see whether there is a better way of delivering services or the complexity of doing this. I’m not saying that this is perfect by any means, but I do believe that, in Wales, we are able to articulate a better level of service across Wales, and I hope that some of the pinch points that we are seeing we can resolve collectively together. I know the Member is very aware of the expert group that exists within Wales and welcomes that, and it’s something that I will ask them to look at specifically in terms of service provision.

The Member makes reference to the veterans’ sheds. The men’s shed that I visited was actually full of ex-service personnel, so it wasn’t specifically named a veterans’ shed, but, actually, the men’s shed I visited was supported predominantly by vets, and there was a great community spirit in that building despite some of the challenges that individuals were fighting. Indeed, one of the more interesting points was the integration of veterans with other persons within the community with some mental health issues as well also accessing services. It’s just a different way of social integration and confidence building, which leads me on to the cadet forces issue and I also pay tribute to the massive amount of work that the volunteers in our cadet services and territorial services provide across the UK, and particularly in Wales. It’s not always about the principle of what the cadet service stands for, but actually it creates a more holistic person and a community resilience that we don’t see outside of these organisations. They give people worth and an opportunity to share that with the local community too. So, it is something that I’m very supportive of, but I would just air a slight bit of caution around cadet forces, particularly in schools, and making sure that access, particularly to the educational value and support of services within schools, has to be carefully balanced on pathways for employment at a later point in time.

It has been alleged that some of the armed forces target particular areas because they are easier to attract people in certain towns and villages, because of the academic evidence surrounding those areas. I think the armed forces, if they’re looking at recruiting, should be open and transparent about all communities across the UK. It’s something that I’ve had conversations about in the past with military forces, and it’s something that we have to be very careful of and not targeting specific groups as opposed to others.

The Presiding Officer took the Chair.

But I welcome the Member’s contribution. It was really good to see him and many other Members in the north Wales event in Ann Jones’s constituency. More interestingly, Ann Jones in a busby was much more entertaining during the day, but I’m sure there are some photographs to support that, too, Presiding Officer.

Finally, Michelle Brown.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. I note that the Cabinet Secretary acknowledges the need for information about the needs of current and ex-servicepeople. Will the Cabinet Secretary give an undertaking to lobby the UK Government for the inclusion of questions in the next census to ascertain the needs of current and ex-armed-servicepeople and their children, so that services can be targeted at them more appropriately, as requested by the Royal British Legion?

I thank the Member for her question—a very pointed question. I did mention this earlier on regarding the census programme. I’ve spoken with the Royal British Legion about this, as well, and also the UK Government. There are some issues specifically about identifying ex-service personnel and their whereabouts and where they live. I would just air caution. I completely agree with the Member—recognising where people are and supporting them is something that I would be very supportive of, but what I don’t want to do is put people at risk of unnecessary census data, and that’s what we’re in discussion with the Royal British Legion about now, about identifying personnel in particular places and where they live, and we’ve just got to be careful that we get that right for the benefit of the individual.

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary.